Vatican Refutes Allegations of Child Abuse Cover-up in Ireland

On Saturday, the Vatican issued a 24 page statement denying accusations made in an Irish government-mandated investigation, the Cloyn report, that the Vatican had thwarted the efforts of Irish bishops to protect children from sexual abuse. The Cloyn report states that the Vatican "effectively gave individual Irish bishops the freedom to ignore the procedures which they had agreed and gave comfort and support to those who...dissented from the stated official church policy."

The Vatican's defense comes after Prime Minster Enda Kenny and the Irish Parliament publically decried the Vatican in July for allegedly thwarting attempts of Irish bishops to report cases of child abuse to the police. Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore stated, "The sense of betrayal which was felt by the Irish people about this matter, and which was clearly expressed by [Kenny], came about not only because of the nature of child abuse itself but also because of the unique position which the Catholic Church enjoyed in this country, manifested in many ways, over many decades."

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